August 2017 Prayer Partner

We are re-circulating this email from last October in light of the imminent decision on DACA from the White House. Please join us in prayer that President Trump and congressional leaders would have wisdom and act to the benefit of our nation’s Dreamers.

Even in this heated political season, we continue to remember that immigration is first and foremost about people. Over the course of the next few months, these emails will feature stories of immigrants and refugees who have come to the U.S.

For me, it was my immigrant journey that led me to immigration advocacy work with the Evangelical Immigration Table, and I’m honored to share with you a little bit of my story.

I was born in China and came to the U.S. at age 10 as an H-4 dependent under my mom’s H-1B work visa. While learning English and adapting to a culture very different from my own presented challenges, I was nevertheless excited to start life in America. Little did I know, however, that things would change drastically before long.

Because our immigration attorney made several errors on my mom’s and my paperwork, I lost my legal status and became undocumented at age 12 even though we didn’t do anything to break U.S. immigration law. My mom contacted other attorneys and appealed to our legislators, but to no avail.

My high school years were difficult. On top of wrestling with my identity as an adolescent, I struggled with the fact that I was “illegal” and did not belong to the place that had become home. Without status, I couldn’t drive, work, or at the time enroll in a university, even having graduated from high school with honors. I questioned my future and my worth.

But God showed His light during this dark time though His people. My mom and I come from an atheist family background but started attending a local church when I was in sixth grade; we would later become Christians there. I came to learn through the ongoing discipleship of my faith community that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior, and He did not see me based on my status, or a lack thereof.

My church family prayed for me and cared for me in practical ways, such as giving me rides when I couldn’t drive. My former youth pastor, knowing my situation, became actively involved in learning and educating others about immigration, as well as advocating on my behalf before our state legislators. It was tremendously empowering to have my pastor speak up for me within the church setting and in the public sphere. I felt incredible love from God through His people.

God answered many prayers and miraculously opened a door for me after community college to complete my bachelor’s degree at Northwestern University on a scholarship — because of my status, I could not access any financial aid, even coming out of single-parent home. I still could not work after graduating from college, until the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was implemented in 2012. While DACA provides only temporary status, it allowed me to work and drive legally, which I had long desired. My status, along with that of millions of immigrants in this country, many of whom are in much more dire situations, will not be resolved for good until there is comprehensive immigration reform.

God led me into immigration work and I’m honored to work on this issue that’s close to His heart. Please join me in prayer that:

Immigrants and refugees, especially those who do not yet know Jesus, would experience God’s love through His people and come to know Him.

Our brothers and sisters wrestling with immigration issues would continue to find support from the faith community and their ultimate hope in Christ.

Our legislators would take courageous steps to move on sensible immigration reform that includes an earned pathway toward legalization and eventual citizenship.

Thank you for your prayers; they make a difference. I’m just one blessed recipient of the prayers and action of God’s people.